The present invention relates to a bag for containing items, such as candy. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a bag with a sticker that is formed as part of and removable from the bag.
Bags, such as film bags, are utilized extensively in modern society for containing a wide variety of items, such as candies, food items and liquids. A typical film bag is made from a laminate that includes an outer film layer adhesively secured to an inner sealing layer. The outer layer is usually made from a material that facilitates printing. The inner layer is usually made from a material that enables the package to be sealed. Other layers can also be incorporated. Properties, such as permeability to oxygen and moisture, strength, stiffness and other packaging requirements may dictate material selection. The outer and inner layers are both typically made from plastic film, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.
In order to entice a customer to purchase a product, manufacturers typically incorporate promotional advertisements into the product""s packaging. For film bags, the promotional advertising has generally been limited to printed indicia on the outer layer of the bag, or ancillary labels that are applied on top of the outer layer.
There have also been attempts over the years to incorporate removable advertising and/or promotional items, such as coupons and stickers, into a product""s packaging. The incorporation of a sticker onto packaging is particularly appealing for products directed toward children, such as candy. The stickers tend to entice the children and/or parent to purchase the product in order to subsequently use the sticker. The prior attempts at forming such package configurations all required the incorporation of a release liner or deadening agent into the packaging to prevent the removable items from adhering to the underlying packaging prior to removal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,393 to Price et al. discloses a package laminate that includes a removable portion. The removable portion is coated with an adhesive repellant or release agent to facilitate its removal from the laminate.
The primary deficiency with the incorporation of release liners and deadening agents in a package is the cost associated with fabricating the packaging increases since the fabrication process requires additional materials and manufacturing steps.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved film bag which incorporates a removable promotional sticker and is relatively inexpensive to fabricate.
An object of the invention is to provide a film bag made from a laminate structure which includes a removable sticker portion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a film bag laminate which includes a means for removing a sticker portion from the remaining portion of the laminate.
These and other objects and advantages are provided by a film bag according to the present invention which is operative for containing articles, such as candies, food and other items. The film bag is made from a laminate that includes a sealing layer and an outer layer. The outer layer preferably has printed indicia formed on it. The outer layer includes a fixed portion which is attached to the sealing layer with a permanent adhesive. The outer layer also includes a removable sticker portion which is substantially coplanar with the fixed portion. The removable sticker portion is attached to the sealing layer with a pressure sensitive adhesive. Preferably, at least part of the pressure sensitive adhesive on the removable portion is separated from the permanent adhesive on the fixed portion by a gap.
In one embodiment of the invention, the gap between the pressure sensitive adhesive and the permanent adhesive completely surrounds the pressure sensitive adhesive.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying figures. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.